


Habits & Heros

by Worlds_we_Idolize



Category: Justice League - All Media Types, Shazam! (2019), Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics)
Genre: Billy Batson Needs a Hug, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Drabble, Foster Care, Gen, Gossip, Implied ADHD, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Justice League (DCU) as Family, Kinda, Light Angst, Secret Identity, Short One Shot, Smoking, Street Rats, Underage Smoking, ah the joys of childhood, basically the team feel like parents to captain marvel but dont know why, billy batson is trying his best, captain marvel is not an airhead, i swear this fic is not as serious as it sounds, mature billy baston, monitor duty, there's a betting pool on captain marvel's identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Worlds_we_Idolize/pseuds/Worlds_we_Idolize
Summary: By the time he’s eleven Billy is far too used to being around alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. It’s just inevitable to come across when placed in the more unsavory homes the system has to offer. While he never felt inclined to take part in such things, the pressure amongst his many foster siblings and friends on the streets gets to him. It’s not a big deal, he reasons. Simply easier to partake than constantly being badgered for being a ‘goody goody’.orBilly is a bit more rough around the edges then people assume.
Relationships: Barry Allen & Billy Batson, Billy Batson & Bruce Wayne, Billy Batson & Justice League
Comments: 16
Kudos: 339





	Habits & Heros

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!  
> Okay, so I wrote this like a year ago but never posted it lmao. It's based on a personal head canon of mine: Billy picks up smoking while in foster care. It's a bit angsty but not too serious. I just wanted to explore aspects of his childhood in a modern setting, and how that manifests when he's a hero. I love fics where Billy's child like persona clashes with a more "adult" side.  
> This is largely based on the 2019!Shazam, but feel free to mix and match canon for whatever makes sense. : )

Billy is eight years old when his foster mother puts a cigarette to his lips, laughing hysterically as he tries to squirm away. She’s an older woman with a thick accent he can’t quite place, especially through the slurring of her words. The stench of alcohol and smoke lingers on her breath. It overpowers the young boy’s senses until he’s drowning in it, only able to faintly make out her amused ramblings. “C’mon boy. Don’t you wanna try it? Toughen up a ‘lil bit.” 

Eventually she grows tired of his squealing and let’s him go with a pat on the head, turning around to holler at another one of the kids crying in the corner of the room. 

Billy heads to the bathroom and starts the shower, desperate to get the smell off him. The nauseous feeling in his stomach remains for the rest of the day. 

By the time he’s eleven Billy is far too used to being around alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. It’s just inevitable to come across when placed in the more unsavory homes the system has to offer. While he never felt inclined to take part in such things, the pressure amongst his many foster siblings and friends on the streets gets to him. It’s not a big deal, he reasons. Simply easier to partake than constantly being badgered for being a ‘goody goody’. It isn’t long until the occasional smoke to appease his older friends turns into something else. Something just meant for Billy and no one else. He continues taking them when offered and swiping some from various people on the side. If he wants to do it then why shouldn’t he? It’s not a big deal, afterall. Who’s going to get mad? 

(At the edge of his mind the word ‘addiction’ flits around. He never dwells on it for too long.)

  
  
  
  


His relationship to his… not  _ problem _ … remains largely the same until he switches into one particular middle school. He’s an eighth grader now and is as disillusioned with school as one can be. He sits patiently through the lessons and tries not to make trouble, but it’s hard. There’s nothing to occupy that niche of his brain which always needs to focus on something. 

Eventually his boredom and growing anxiety culminates in a tendency to bounce his leg beneath his desk and tap his pen loudly against the wood. It gets to the point where the teacher throws him looks whenever she walks by, and really, it shouldn’t bother Billy as much as it does. He can’t seem to control it. 

“Hey dude.” A voice whispers from behind him, prompting Billy to turn around to face his classmate. “Wanna hit?” He continues, holding out a small black stick held precariously in his hoodie sleeve. 

The kid in question is a lanky, awkward boy who Billy had never spoken to beyond the occasional greeting when he entered class. It takes Billy a moment to see what exactly he’s being offered, but when he does, his eyes light up in faint interest. 

A juul. He had seen lots of kids start using them in the past few months, but had yet to try it himself. 

“Is that…?” He asks, letting the question hang in the air. 

“Cotton candy flavour.”

“Oh, uhm.” Billy shoots an unsure glance at the teacher, who’s sitting at her desk grading papers. “I’m not sure-”

“Seriously, I don’t mind. You look like you could use it.” The kid (what was his name? Devin? Martin?) continues. His face is pinched in an expression of sympathy and for a moment it renders Billy at a loss for words. 

“Yeah, yeah-” but before he can say anymore, the kid is sliding the stick into his own sleeve and looking down at his paper. Billy gets the hint and fumbles for a moment, hunching down and drawing up his hood tighter. He takes a long breath in and let’s it linger, watching in fascination as the vapor plumes in the air. Huh. 

He slyly reaches his hand back as though to high five the kid, but instead passes the tiny device back to its owner. “Thanks,” he coughs out.

“No problem.”

The rest of the period passes just as uneventfully as always. 

  
  


For the rest of his time at that school, Billy hangs around with a group of kids known to always have a vape pen on hand. He doesn’t necessarily like it, (the flavors that seem to attract kids to it just tastes odd to him) but he justifies it as a better alternative to smoking, (which he still does at home, albeit a bit less). It’s not a  _ thing.  _ Just… something he does. 

After he is taken in by the Vasquez’s he reavulates this  _ not thing.  _ When he first decides he wants the Vasquez’s to be his forever family, he considers quitting altogether. No one else in the household does it and there’s no way he can keep up his habit without burning through cash quickly. He briefly considers investing in his own juul and resigning himself to whatever the Vasquez’s might think about that. Afterall, that was much easier to justify. He could imagine explaining to Rosa if he ever got caught ‘ _ It’s just a trend… everyone does it…. It’s not like I have to use it.”  _

A teenager doing stupid teenager trends was a lot more appealing than a jaded foster kid with a nicotine addiction. (It’s not an addiction! Just a habit…) 

However, Billy decides against it. Because truthfully, he already knows there would be no way they’d approve, and if they ever put him to the test (taking it away, banning him from using it) he doesn’t want to imagine how embarrassing his withdrawal would be. 

There’s sides to him that are best left undisclosed. 

Thankfully, he figures something else out, thanks to his newly acquired superhero alter ego. Captain Marvel is useful for a lot of rather mundane problems such as this. Firstly, he’s clearly an adult- so purchasing cigarettes becomes way less of a hassle. He can walk into any gas station he wants and leave with anything on the shelf. (Though he does try to avoid being recognized, it just seems like bad publicity.) 

Secondly, his superpowered form is virtually immune to any poisons or harmful chemicals. He can smoke however much he wants and never feel the negative effects. 

( _ Really,  _ Billy thinks,  _ if anyone knew that one of my favorite perks of being a superhero was avoiding lung disease they’d laugh me out of Fawcett.) _

So, yeah. He starts going cold turkey as his fourteen year old self and saves his unsavory habit for long patrol nights, or simply sitting on the rooftops alone after a rough day. It works, and really, Billy is satisfied enough with the arrangement. Maybe one day he can kick the urge completely. 

//

Captain Marvel has been part of the Justice League for about a year and none of them know anything about him beyond the bare minimum. Even Batman, the resident stalker, has no information that the average team member doesn’t already have. In fact, everything could be written easily on an index card. 

Alias: Captain Marvel

Powers: Flight, superspeed, strength, immunity to poisons, magic, ect. 

Origins: Powers granted by various gods. 

And that’s it. All that’s confirmed, at least. 

Despite Marvel’s extremely open and genuine personality, bordering on overly friendly, no one had ever dared to question him further. Well,  _ they had,  _ but when their efforts had yielded few results they eventually took the hint. Do not ask about the man’s past. 

And for the most part, everyone was fine with that. Once again, Cap’s general honesty did a lot to combat the doubts that some heroes may have about him. Plus, it didn’t hurt that many of them saw him as a bit of an airhead. 

That’s why Barry Allen, aka the Flash, found it jarring when Marvel showed up for his monitor duty without his usual grin plastered across his face. The man arrived on the Watchtower and only spared a small smile at the League members he encountered, making his way silently towards the residential rooms. Flash watched in interest as the red clad hero walked away, trying to parse out what to make of his mellow mood. 

This happened occasionally, but not often. Sometimes Cap would show up to a meeting or mission noticeably quieter than usual. To anyone else it wouldn’t seem strange in the slightest, but Flash had been around him far too long to not be intrigued. 

As the majority of the remaining members started preparing to head home for the night, Barry hesitated. He ran over to the display board which kept track of everyone’s monitor shifts, noting that Marvel was the only one on duty for this Saturday night. Maybe he’d like some company. 

Barry isn’t sure why he stays, but twenty minutes after everyone else has left he finds himself strolling down the halls of the tower, ready to interrupt Cap’s monitor duty for some friendly conversation. 

What the speedster isn’t prepared for is to enter the monitor room to the sight of Captain Marvel leaned back in his chair, white boots kicked up onto the monitor, and lit cigarette in hand. The earthy smell hits Barry before he processes what it is and his face scrunches up before he can stop himself. The dark haired hero still hasn’t noticed him, his eyes screwed shut, head tilted back, and finishing off a drag. Barry has never seen him sit so still. 

He pauses for a moment to take in the scene, totally unsure of what to do next. It seems rude to interrupt, but then again, maybe he was just making things weird. Cap was a grown adult. Just because he tended to skew more towards the childish and innocent side of the personality spectrum didn’t change that. Still… Barry had the growing urge to gasp aloud and begin listing off all the chemical compounds those things had in them, his inner PTA mom properly scandalised. For a moment he considered speeding off and calling it a night, but his decision was made for him when he accidentally coughed in the otherwise silent room.

Cap startled, eyes flying open and making contact with his impromptu visitor. He still had his head thrown back, cigarette halfway to his lips. However, the look of surprise quickly melted when he recognized who it was. 

“Oh! Hey Flash,” the man said, sitting upright and turning in his chair. “What brings you here? I thought I was the only one on duty tonight.” 

Flash rubbed the back of his neck, feeling off kilter. “Yea, I was just stopping by to say goodnight. Are you good by yourself? I saw that no one else was scheduled…”

“Yeah it’s cool. Someone had to take off.”

Flash stood awkwardly in the doorway, shifting on his toes and glancing at the many screens lining the walls. “Cool, cool… guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” 

“For sure. ‘Night.” Cap said, unconcerned. 

“‘Night.” Flash walked off, mildly confused and far too excited to tell the rest of the team about this strange encounter in the morning. 

  
  
  


The following morning, most of the core members of the League returned to the tower for one of their regular meetings. It was more of the same topics as usual. Batman droned on in his monotone voice about possible upcoming missions and training while everyone else followed along with various degrees of interest. 

No one was surprised to see Marvel being one of the first to leave when the meeting was over. They all knew he had monitor duty the night before and hadn’t been home for quite some time. So, no one questioned his silent exit as everyone else reconvened in their own small groups to socialize or work. 

“There he goes,” Green Lantern said to the group around them, “Off to do… whatever he does all day.” His tone was teasing, but there was obvious curiosity beneath it, causing some of the team to groan in annoyance. Captain Marvel was a topic that came up more frequently than they’d admit. Where he was from, who he really was… he was one of the main contributors to the League’s rumor mill. 

“Most likely to protect his city, as we all do.” Wonder Woman chimed in easily, an indulgent smile on her face. 

“He’s just so  _ mysterious,” _ the lantern continued, “tell me it doesn’t weird you out.” 

The Amazonian rolled her eyes fondly. 

Sensing an opportunity to finally spill his latest discovery, Flash interjected. “You know, I  _ did  _ have a weird encounter with him last night.” 

Suddenly everyone listening had eyes on him. 

“What do you mean  _ weird?”  _

Flash hesitated for a moment, thinking it over. “Okay, it wasn’t like,  _ earth shattering  _ weird or anything. It was just unexpected.”

“And what does that mean?” Flash chuckled, satisfied with how desperate his friend was for details. 

“Well- Did you know he smokes?” 

For a moment the group paused, looking at each other as though searching for confirmation. 

Green Arrow suddenly scoffed, crossing his arms. “No _ way.” _ He stated in amused disbelief. “ That doesn’t seem like his type of thing. He’s a bigger boy scout than Superman over there.” 

“I swear,” Flash stressed, “I went to talk to him on monitor duty and he was just-” the speedster gestured in a way that he hoped conveyed what he was trying to say. “- hanging out.” 

Now Superman had joined the conversation as well, mouth pulled in a slight frown. “He shouldn’t do that. It’s unhealthy.” Flash merely shrugged. 

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Batman’s cape swish as he stalked off in the direction of the monitor room. Probably to identify which brand it was from the smell and track the guy down perhaps. Whatever obsessive detectives do to find out secret identities. 

“Why do I feel like we just caught our kid doing drugs or something?” GL laughed. “It just seems-”

“ _ Weird  _ right?” Flash finished empathetically. 

“Maybe he picked it up from Constantine.” Black Canary suggested, shrugging casually. 

“Constantine? Doesn’t he hate Cap or something?” 

This question sparked a heated debate amongst the group, everyone invested in the ‘Who/What is Captain Marvel’ betting pool throwing in their own theories. At some point Lantern ended up raising his hand, only to ask if Cap smoking supported the ‘mortal’ or ‘god’ origin theories more, in turn starting a whole  _ new  _ debate. 

Back in Fawcett city, Billy Batson laid down to sleep through the rest of his Sunday morning, blissfully unaware of the new rumors taking form. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope someone liked it, I was really unsure if I should post this cause its just a drabble but-  
> I personally like hc stories so hopefully someone enjoyed this


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